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Summer grasses,
all that remains
of soldiers’ dreams.
This is a poem by the great writer Matsuo Basho who is famous for his very simple yet elegant style of storytelling.
He spent much of his life travelling around Japan during it’s beautiful but dangerous Edo period and strove to communicate the inner nature of the world he saw around him. The result was a huge number of poems and stories that are incredible no matter how much time has passed or what language they’ve been translated to.
Basho had an interesting philosophy of storytelling which I think is really useful if your creative work involves non-fiction subjects. A disciple of his summed up his philosophy in this way:
The master said, ‘Learn about a pine tree from a pine tree, and about a bamboo stalk from a bamboo stalk.’
What he meant was that the poet should detach his mind from self…and enter into the object, sharing its delicate life and feelings. Whereupon a poem forms itself.
Description of the object is not enough: unless a poem contains feelings which have come from the object, the object and the poet’s self will be separate things.
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Excellent.
What do you think he would have had to say about these two boys?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h78EDtGppU&feature=sub
Wow they’re quite good yet so relaxed about it lol. Wish I could play like that! I think Basho would have liked how in the moment they are.
Exactly my thoughts.